Queens man accused of firing gun in Manhattan subway station

Phil Corso

Published Nov 8, 2023

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Police say a 43-year-old man fired a gun towards another man attempting to rob a woman on a 49th Street subway platform on Tuesday.

Marc A. Hermann / MTA

Phil Corso

Published Nov 8, 2023

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A Queens man was arrested after being accused of firing a weapon on a Manhattan subway platform in an attempt to intervene in a dispute, the NYPD said.

John Rote, 43, was taken into custody after police said he shot at a 49-year-old man trying to forcibly remove property from a 40-year-old woman at the 49th Street N, R and W subway station around 9:13 p.m. on Tuesday. He was charged on Wednesday with criminal possession of a weapon, reckless endangerment, criminal possession of a firearm and menacing.

There were no injuries, police said.

Earlier on Wednesday, police said 49-year-old Matthew Roesch, the man accused of attempting to take the woman's property, was taken into custody and charged with attempted robbery.

Officers joined with MTA officials on Wednesday to condemn the attack.

“I want to be clear: we don’t tolerate this kind of conduct in NYC Transit, period. Once again cameras recorded a perpetrator, and we are grateful the NYPD made an arrest within hours," NYC Transit President Richard Davey said in a statement. "Thank goodness nobody was hurt here—but what occurred was outrageous, reckless, and unacceptable.”

Attorney information for Rote and Roesch was not immediately available.

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queens

public safety

manhattan

transportation